Hunger Games: Abstract Defiance

First chapter of my Hunger Games story; sequel to Not A Pawn in Their Games, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins.

The Games Begin Again

The sun rose and the day dawned brightly; yet the mood couldn't be tenser. Waking up to this Kai Raithebone sighed; to him it was like some cruel joke.

'A bright sunny day, perfect weather…spoiled by the fact it's Reaping Day, again.'

Kai sighed as he climbed out of bed; it had been a whole year since he had been reaped for the Seventy-First Hunger Games and emerged the Victor. This meant that now, for the Seventy-Second Hunger Games, he would be serving as Mentor to the Tributes reaped today, along with the only other District 12 Victor, Aviva Lawaway. He glanced at the mirror in the corner of the room. While no longer the tangled mane it had been, he had allowed his silver hair to grow out slightly, looking closer his lilac eyes clearly displayed the depths of his exhaustion along with the dark shadows beneath his eyes. He yawned and stretched, a few popping noises sounding from his back.

'No surprise I'm exhausted; I only got back to District 12 at two in the morning last night.' He reflected bitterly. 'All thanks to President Lucrum and his little side business.'

The offer Lucrum had made him after his victory had been to join his side-business. The most popular and beloved Victors were forced into prostitution; being available for any Capitol citizen who paid for them. Kai knew if he refused his mother would be killed, Aviva had warned him about all this, she too was part of the prostitution and had initially refused, resulting in the death of her fiancée and family.

Kai crossed the room and opened the curtains covering the window. He and his mother no longer lived in their run down hovel in the Seam. Instead they now lived in one of the large, well-built houses in District 12's Victor's Village. Across from them was Aviva's house; bland, foreboding, curtains drawn 24/7. Kai bit his lip, while his mother seemed happier, no longer having to fear about him being reaped again, her concerns now being what Kai had to do for the President. Kai however was worried about Aviva; she had nobody to support her; she was always alone. Yet even as he watched, he noticed something unusual. He had been wrong, Aviva's curtains were opened; for the first time since she moved into the house.

'What the, when did…?' His brain barely had time to comprehend it when he turned his head and noticed the clock. He had no time to ponder this strange behaviour from Aviva; he had to get ready for the Reaping. He quickly got dressed and made sure he was ready before heading downstairs. As he got ready he reflected on how things had changed for him in District 12. He no longer had to hunt to provide for himself and his mother; that didn't stop him however from doing it, it was his main pastime and he instead began providing for the less fortunate, those in the Seam.

One incident in particular stuck out in his mind. The poor girl had been starving; she was young too, no more than twelve, a fresh candidate for the Reaping. When he gave her the food, she looked at him shocked and struggled to speak. Seeing her dry, cracked lips he also gave her some water. When she managed to speak she had thanked him before returning home with the food and water. He knew these actions would be looked on poorly by the Capitol but he also had enough now to bribe Peacekeepers to turn a blind eye to his actions. Finally he made it downstairs, noticing that his mother wasn't home, likely out buying food and such, although they didn't need it themselves she bought the food to aid Kai in helping the Seam inhabitants. They refused to forget those they had left behind. Just then Kai was jolted out of thoughts by a knock at the door. He hurried to answer the door; it was Aviva, dressed for the Reaping. She managed a small smile as she nodded in greeting; Kai stepped back and let her in. Once the door was closed they headed through to the kitchen.

"So; how have you been?" Aviva asked.

Kai shrugged. "Fine, a little tired though…I never got home till late last night, stuck in the Capitol."

Aviva smirked and pointed as she replied. "So I see, you missed a spot."

It was then Kai noticed the fragment of gold paint on the back of his left hand.

He groaned and hurried to the sink and began washing it off. Aviva watched him, faintly amused; she raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Gold paint?"

Kai grimaced. "The last woman who hired me; one of her obsessions is gold. She wanted to make love to gold…so I was painted gold."

Aviva nodded, also grimacing; Kai finally finished cleaning his hand. Aviva then looked at the clock.

"We better go down to the Justice Building." She informed him.

Kai looked at her, confused.

"It's still early."

Aviva turned back to him. "Yes, but it's better we get there early, then you can avoid them."

Kai cringed and then nodded in agreement. At that point, his mother Ariel, returned. Kai informed her of their plan and she agreed. He then left the house with Aviva, heading down to Justice Building. Kai reflected bitterly on the 'them' Aviva had spoken of. Despite being ignored or ridiculed all his life; now that he had won the Hunger Games a large group of girls in the District had become annoyingly infatuated with him and formed a crazed fan club. Whenever they saw him they tried to follow him everywhere; which made it harder for him to go hunting.

'It's not like I did anything worth being celebrated for.' He thought to himself. 'It's easy enough to do what I did, if you're willing to kill people.'

Kai shook his head; those girls were deluding themselves, he wasn't a hero, he was a killer, nothing else. Still with those thoughts running through his mind, he and Aviva finally arrived at the Justice Building and headed inside, waiting for the Reaping to begin.

End of chapter, hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.